I’ve been quiet lately.

I really haven’t had much to talk about. We’re deep in the throes of the final days of school. In fact, tomorrow is the last day. It’s a half day, so the girls will be home at lunch time. I certainly hope that Mariella doesn’t need rescue in the morning, since all her meds are at home. I think I’ll give her a neb before school, just to be sure.

As for the asthma front, it’s pretty much the same. Mariella is barely eating again, and a wise person pointed out to me a few days ago that it’s much easier to breathe when your stomach is empty. She’s been asking for rescue…either by puffer or neb…nearly every day. It’s gotten hot, it’s gotten humid, and we’ve been under air quality warnings for a week now. We try to stay indoors, but even short jaunts outside…like waiting for the bus, or walking from the mall to the car has her gasping for air. Today she complained of “feeling funny in her chest” I asked if it was pain or just feeling funny…and she said it’s not pain. I gave her 2 puffs, and she reported that the funny feeling started to go away.

It often amazes people that Mariella will differentiate whether she needs rescue by puffer or by nebulizer. If it’s not too bad, she will ask for a puffer. If she’s really tight, or is really coughing, she asks for the neb. I guess it’s good that she does…I just hate that she has to at all.

As for O2 stats, she normally runs about 95 or 96, which is a change from her norm, where she was running 100% even with fully occluded lungs, where the doc was surprised I hadn’t needed to bring her to the ER…but, she isn’t typically desatting, though she’s done that too…our lowest recorded is 79%. Treatments bring her reading up to normal, so I try not to panic. It’s just another mystery…as we don’t know WHY it’s happening. We keep getting things that tell us what it ISN’T, and not what it IS. Even her doctors have stopped calling it “asthma” though they don’t really have a name for what it IS…The pulmo calls it “IT” she’s got “IT” we just don’t know what “IT” is.

So, half a day of school left, a short week of vacation…then the girls are off to 2 weeks of summer camp. Mariella hated it last year…but asked to go again…we’ll see how she does this year…if she hates it again, it will probably be her last year of camp.

Regarding the lack of appetite when flaring is something I go though too. When I have trouble breathing, I’m not hungry, or I don’t want to eat much. The idea that when the stomach is empty, it’s easier to breathe, would make sense to me too.